Flower Drum Song--2002 Broadway Cast Album

I've previously watched the film version of this show, so I thought I knew what I was in for when I popped the cast album of the 2002 Broadway revival of Flower Drum Song into the player. Turns out this revival was a very different show from the original, as evidenced not only by the synopsis of the show and the notes by Ted Chapin provided in the booklet to the CD, but also by the music itself. The score is re-orchestrated, the book re-written, characters re-arranged, and songs re-assigned.

All of this is thanks primarily to David Henry Hwang who approached the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization about reworking the show for a contemporary audience. I don't know if that means that the show is no longer set in the 1950s, the notes don't discuss that. But from my recollections of the film, several characters are missing, and the notion of arranged marriage from the original story has been taken out.

Lea Salonga starred as Mei-Li in the version, and her singing on this disc is very good from beginning to end. Ms. Salonga has a warm and lovely music theater voice which general traverses well into her head voice. The character of Mei-Li is given the song "Love, Look Away" which was sung by the character of Helen in the original version. This is a wonderful song, and Ms. Salonga sings it well, although I have some slight issues with the tempo and some of the rhythms taken in this version. Other good singing from this cast is given by Jose Llana as number one son Ta (although if there is a number two son, he's not on the disc), and Sandra Allen as Linda Low.

Less successful to me is turning "Don't Marry Me" into a duet. Jack Soo was so droll and funny in his delivery of this song in the film version, I missed the character of Sammy Fong in the 2002 arrangement (two characters have been combined here).

There is a moment in the second act finale that I need someone to explain to me. The actors seem to step out of character and announce where they were born. I suppose this is to show how diverse the Asian community is, but I wonder how it worked on stage. I certainly can't blame the R&H Organization or Mr. Hwang for wishing to rework Flower Drum Song for a new incarnation, but I do wonder if they went too far.

Flower Drum Song
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by David Henry Hwang
This version opened in 2002
Cast: Lea Salonga, Jose Llana, Sandra Allen,

Mandy Patinkin--Recital disc "Oscar and Steve"

Like many musical theater fans, I first encountered Mandy Patinkin in his role in Evita, then later in Sunday in the Park with George. I've liked him in the stage work I've seen in him (although I've never seen him live). So I was curious about his recital disc Oscar and Steve from 1995 when I saw it at a used book and record sale this weekend. I thought "for three bucks, how bad could it be?"

The idea of of this album is wonderful--connecting the songs of Oscar Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim. There are several pairings of songs that are also very interesting, although work more from a thematic standpoint than from a musical one. The pairing of "You've got to be Carefully Taught" from South Pacific and "Children will Listen" from Into the Woods is a prime example--thematically these songs fit together very well, but in the arrangement offered here it seems to play up the musical differences rather than combine their styles. The version of "An Ordinary Couple" from The Sound of Music with "When the Children are Asleep" from Carousel works better--probably because they are by the same composer.

There are some nice rarities offered here, too: a song from the 1935 film version of Show Boat; a song cut from Follies; and a couple of songs originally written for women.

Mr. Patinkin's musical mannerisms are the stuff of legend, and he doesn't leave you wanting here, I should say--every mannerism is on display in spades. As the joke goes--Mandy Patinkin sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" so beautifully he makes himself cry. Is the joke from a version of Forbidden Broadway? For me the only thing more tiresome than an overly precious performance is an overly broad performance.

These two types of performances are Mr. Patinkin's stock and trade.

Oscar and Steve

Music by Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Kern, and others
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim

Performed by Mandy Patinkin

Released on Nonesuch Records in 1995

South Pacific--the new Broadway cast recording on CD

Having liked Kelli O'Hara in previous shows in which I encountered her, I was looking forward to listening to this new Broadway version of South Pacific. I was also interested to hear Paulo Szot's singing as he has made a splash for his other attributes. Nothing disappointed.

I've never seen this show on stage, but have seen the film many times, and previously discussed a concert version with Reba McIntyre. I can't discuss in depth the book of this show, but if it is half as good as the music, then it's pretty good.

One of the things I like about this show, is that R&H have continued to develop the new ideas that they've introduced in their previous shows. South Pacific has twin soliloquies, which build on the solo soliloquy in Carousel. Rather than a dream ballet, the dance moment morphs into the Thanksgiving Follies. The writers are not just routinely inserting formats that worked before, but are conforming them to the world of the story. Can you imagine the dream ballet with Billis, Stewpot and the other sailors?

Kelli O'Hara continues to impress me with her vocal talents. In the little bit of dialogue included on this disc, she has taken on a thick Southwestern drawl which annoyed me. But as Ms. O'Hara is a native of Oklahoma, I'll trust that she's gotten the Arkansas patterns right.

I was surprise that Paulo Szot's voice isn't a little darker in color, although that may be vocal the ghosts of Ezio Pinza and Brian Stokes Mitchell in my ears. Mr. Szot sings everything well and handles the high notes with easy.

I'm a little depressed to note, however, that Mr. Szot is four years younger than I am. I had hopes my ingenue days were still in full bloom.

South Pacific

Music by Richard Rodgers

Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Book by Joshua Logan

Opened originally in 1949, this production in 2008

Cast: Kelli O'Hara, Paulo Szot, Danny Burstein, Matthew Morrison, Loretta Able Sayres

Richard Rodgers: The Sweetest Sounds on DVD

When I took this DVD out of the Netflix envelope, I was afraid it was going to be another special concert offering, but it turns out Richard Rodgers: The Sweetest Sounds was made for PBS's American Masters series, and is more talking heads about the history, importance and substance of Rodgers' music than singing heads. I actually would have like a little less conversation and a little more music-making, but seeing as I've already listened to a Rodgers one-off concert, perhaps this is better--for now.

The documentary goes through the three major phases of Rodgers' career--two decades of work with Lorenz Hart, including some time in Hollywood; nearly two more decades of work with Oscar Hammerstein II; and the post-Hammerstein years when Rodgers is working on his own, and several others.

Among the many knowledgeable and informative talking heads are performers--Shirley Jones, Barbara Cook, Diahann Carroll, Maureen McGovern, and jazz musicians Billy Taylor and Barbara Carroll; Rodgers family members--daughter and composer Mary Rodgers Guettel, daughter Linda Rodgers, and grandson and composer Adam Guettel; music theater historians and producers such as Ted Chapin, president of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, which licenses Rodgers' shows.

There are several interesting historical clips the documentary including the wonderful "Bench Scene" from Carousel with John Raitt recorded for television, and the lovely Diahann Carroll singing the title song from "No Strings". I must make a point of finding more to listen to from this show.

I've had the idea for a while to do a concert called Rodgers Without Hammerstein, focusing on his work with Hart, his work alone and including things that wouldn't have lyrics like "Victory at Sea", "Slaughter on 5th Avenue", and the dance music from R&H shows --like "The Carousel Waltz" which has always been one of my favorite pieces of music.

Any takers?

Richard Rodgers: The Sweetest Sounds
Produced for PBS American Masters in 2001
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers and others
Cast: Shirley Jones, Julie Andrews, Ted Chapin, Mary Rodgers, Adam Guettel, Barbara Cook, John Raitt, Diahann Carroll, Maureen McGovern

The Sound of Music--Original Broadway Cast Album on (gasp!) LP

The film of this show is so ingrained in my mind that I really wanted to find a different version of The Sound of Music to consider. Since I'm at my parents' home for Father's Day weekend, I've fired up their old turn table and put on the thirty-three-and-a-third cast album. If you don't know what 33-1/3 refers to, I don't want to know you.

Did anyone other than Mary Martin originate two R&H roles? If so, I can't think of them. Maria would have been after Nellie in South Pacific, and it's interesting to think that both characters are rather innocent of the wider world, while being thrust into it. Ms. Martin makes a very different Maria than Julie Andrews--at least as this recording and the photos included in the fold-out album cover convey. Martin is less crystalline, slightly more adult, and does a whole lot of portamento singing that I don't remember Ms. Andrews using in the film.

SOM was the first musical I was ever in, as a 9th-grader. "I'm Friedrich. I'm fourteen. I'm a boy." Yes, I was the von Trapp's oldest son and La in the solfege line-up. What a great first show for a kid to be in. Not only was I rehearsing and performing at the Senior High School, while still being in Junior High School, but the children are front and center most of the time on stage and sing some very fun and challenging music. But you always have your six stage brothers and sisters with you, so you don't have to carry a lot on your individual shoulders.

Several songs from the show's score were left out in the film, and it was nice to hear the funny "How Can Love Survive" and "No Way to Stop It" again--although the later song has the unfortunate association of turning a blind eye to Nazism. I had forgotten the duet "Ordinary Couple", replaced in the film with "Something Good", which is a better and more interesting song, I think.

Oh, Lord, my father is setting up the slide projector for the umpteenth viewing of some trip or family reunion or other. Maybe you can't go home again, but you will see the photos again and again.

Sound of Music
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
Opened in 1959
Cast: Mary Martin, Patricia Neway, Theordore Bikel, Marion Marlowe, Kurt Kaznar

Allegro--Studio Cast Recording

I've had this CD sitting for a while waiting for me to pick it up and listen to it.  It is a bit daunting even to look at--a two-disc set with an hour and forty minutes of music and dialogue and an 80-page booklet of synopsis, libretto, and multiple articles on the history of this challenging show While there are many performers I greatly anticipated hearing in this studio recording, I was a little bit afraid of Allegro. 

Turns out, I was afraid with good reason.  There is a lot to digest in what is billed as the first complete recording of this score and not a lot to hold on to.   I think that is part of the plan of this cradle-to-midlife show, though; life offers us a lot to digest, and just a few things to hold on to during the journey.   But the theme doesn't translate into a listenable score.

Baritone Nathan Gunn has been a favorite singer of mine for several years, since I discovered his debut recital disc on EMI.  While he makes most of his appearances in opera houses, he is increasingly entering the world of the Broadway musical--most notably a semi-staged performance of Camelot with Marin Mazzie and Gabriel Byrne, where Mr. Gunn sang the role of Lancelot.  Here, Gunn has the role of the elder Dr. Joseph Taylor.  He's given little to sing. Audra McDonald, in the role of the elder Taylor's wife is given a bit more. 

The challenge in listening to this score is that much of the action is described by sung and spoken choruses and there are few full songs given to the primary characters.  It almost feels like much of the first act is exposition, rather than action.

There were a couple of songs I had heard before, but didn't know they were from this show. I think  "What a Lovely Day for a Wedding" was in the Richard Rodgers concert I listened to several months ago.  The song "Mountain Greenery" is from Rodgers' time with Larry Hart and is used here to evoke the 1920s era--when it was written, of course.  There was little or nothing in first act of the score that really grabbed my attention.  In the second act "The Gentleman is a Dope" is a fun song and well sung here by Liz Callaway.  The title song "Allegro" is lively and tells me this show is also about the speed of our lives. "Come Home" is lovely and well sung by Audra McDonald, but seems weird sung by a character who is dead--if a jilted wife were singing it, it would hold more emotional punch, I think.

The articles in the booklet all talk about how Allegro was an early experimental musical and how the production concept used scenic pieces to suggest locations rather than using full sets.  I found it interesting that R and H were inspired in part by Our Town, and there are certainly similarities is style and content.  However, this show and recording leave me thinking the score is only musical bits, too.

Allegro

Music by Richard Rodgers

Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II

Opened in 1947

Cast: Nathan Gunn, Audra McDonald, Judy Kuhn, Laura Benanti, Patrick Wilson, Norbert Leo Butz, Liz Callaway

Flower Drum Song--film on DVD

Of the so-called "Asian Trilogy" of Rodgers and Hammerstein--South Pacific, The King and I, and Flower Drum Song, the last one has the most interesting script for me, but the least interesting score.

The issues of assimilation into a new culture, clashes between generations, and how one personally chooses between tradition and a desire for one's own style are timeless and all present in the story of Flower Drum Song. They must have seemed very timely in the years after WWII, touching, as the book does on teenagers and American immigration, and maybe even as a mea culpa following the internment of Japanese Americans, even though FDS follows Chinese Americans.

The score however does not contain enough for me to hold onto. Perhaps the stage version has more. "I Enjoy Being a Girl" is a good song; "Love, Look Away" is a great song, one of the best R&H ever wrote I think. But the rest leaves me cold. Mei Li, the romantic female lead sings the insipid "A Hundred Million Miracles", and "I am Going to Like it Here." There is not a good number for Wang Ta, the male lead. Even the chorus numbers don't get my juices running, particularly "Chop Suey". "Grant Avenue" is slightly better.

The two extended dance numbers in this film also fall flat for me. I'd much rather hear some more of "Love, Look Away" than watch the odd dream ballet which interrupts it. The same with the comedic dance that follows "Sunday". Neither add to my understanding of the story or the songs out of which they come.

I do like the song "Don't Marry Me". I used to use it as an audition piece, before I realized that it was inappropriate for me to sing a song specifically written for an Asian American. Or inappropriate for me to sing period.

Flower Drum Song
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics and Book by Oscar Hammerstein
Opened on stage in 1958, film version released in 1961
Cast: Miyoshi Umeki, Jack Soo, Patrick Adiarte, Nancy Kwan, James Shigeta

Carmen Jones--film on DVD

What an attractive cast. Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte must be two of the sexiest people ever to be on film, and they are together and at the height of their appeal in Otto Preminger's film version of Carmen Jones, which uses the general story and music from Bizet's opera Carmen in a new setting with new lyrics and dialogue by Oscar Hammerstein II.

While Dandridge and Belafonte are both singers, we hear neither of their singing voices in this film, due to the extreme vocal ranges for Carmen's and Joe's roles. A young Marilyn Horne supplies the vocals for Carmen. Knowing Ms. Horne's voice well from her storied opera career, it is interesting to hear her morph her sound to make it fit Dandridge's physicality. The voice is completely unrecognizable as Horne's, but sounds very much as if it could be Dandridge's. Whomever sings for Belafonte is less successful.

I love the music of Bizet's Carmen, which forms the basis of this score, although I've never seen it in an opera house. I did see the Peter Brook version that played at Lincoln Center in the 80s. It was a bit of a cross between the opera and a theatre piece, although I don't recall much of it other than it was the first time I had seen fire live on stage, and the iconic tableau of Don Jose squeezing the orange into Carmen's mouth.

According to the broadway database, there has not been a Broadway remount of this show since the 1940s. A lot of the dialogue and lyrics seem dated and stereotypical by today's standards, but I wonder if this show would work in a concert setting? Everytime I heard Pearl Bailey speak or sing, I kept imagining Queen Latifah. Audra McDonald could certainly sing Carmen. I don't know about the role of Joe, but how about Brian Stokes Mitchell singing Husky Miller (who sings the Toreodor song)?

Carmen Jones
Music by Georges Bizet
Lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II
Film directed and produced by Otto Preminger
Released in 1954
Cast: Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey, Diahann Carroll, Joe Adams

State Fair 1945 film on DVD

The immediate follow-up to Oklahoma! for the burgeoning song-writing team of Rodgers & Hammerstein was not Carousel, but a musical film. There was another version of the film created in 1962 with Pat Boone and Ann-Margaret, but that version doesn't have nearly the midwestern charm of the original 1945 State Fair.

Set in Iowa, rather than Texas in the later remake, the story follows the coming of age of brother and sister Wayne and Margy Frake. Literally right off the farm, each sibling is looking to see what the wider world may have to offer at the Stage Fair. And they find a lot. There is love for everyone in this film, including the prize-winning pig, Blue Boy. He's blue no more!

The two most famous songs from this film score are "It Might as Well Be Spring" and "It's a Grand Night for Singing", both of which remain regularly performed as part of the R & H catalogue--and deservedly so. They are memorable tunes with good lyrics. I was surprised that "Grand Night" is sung by a secondary character of the film--a boy singer with the band on the Fair's Midway--although, both Dick Haymes and Vivian Blain have verses, along with the chorus.

Ms. Blaine will go on to originate the role of Miss Adelaide in Guys & Dolls in 1950, and if that is the persona you are most familiar with, Blaine is hardly recognizable in State Fair. A redhead to beat all the henna-hens, Ms. Blaine displays a contralto-like, sultry singing voice. Dick Haymes has a likeable, lyric baritone, but is a bit of a disappointment in the acting department.

Sister Margy is played by Jeanne Crain, who meets Des Moines Register reporter Pat Gilbert played by Dana Andrews. Both actors are dubbed by others when singing, even though Mr. Andrews was trained as an opera singer.

State Fair
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
20th Century Fox film released in 1945
Directed by Walter Lang
Cast: Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews, Dick Haymes, Vivian Blaine, Charles Winninger, Fay Bainter

Me and Juliet original cast album on CD

Well, I've missed the opportunity to have something Halloween-related today; I don't know maybe The Phantom of the Opera, or the musical version of Lestat the Vampire (has that opened yet?). Instead we have the scenery that ate the musical by Rodgers & Hammerstein. That's basically how the informative notes to this CD reissue describe Me and Juliet.

It's a show-within-a-show. Am I in a rut with those? Well, apparently this one takes place in just about every place within a theatre, including the lighting catwalk. No wonder the set took over.

The only song I had heard from this score is "No Other Love" and it's a wonderful song presented in duet. Bill Hayes has a nice tenor voice. Isabel Bigley a lightish soprano that gets a bit covered in the upper reaches. Of course, it sounds as if this cast album was not remastered before being transfered to CD, so that may be partly to blame.

A couple of the songs about the theatre milieu approach funny without really getting there. The "Intermission Talk" has some hysterical references to which I laughed out loud, but the music is all over the board and doesn't settle on any one style long enough to make an impression. "It's Me" is also funny, about how an actor is no one until she takes on a role. This song could easily be arranged for one women and would be a good cabaret addition. "The Big Black Giant" about the audience is a good idea, again with too many musical styles to really sink my ears into.

The two songs from the show-within are blah, although the singing of baritone Mark Dawson is very good. I must check him out to see if he can reappear in my Year.

ps. It turns out, Mr. Dawson has already appeared in my Year, having been in the original cast of Fiorello, although I didn't list him in my cast list or labels as he didn't have much solo work.

Me and Juliet
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Opened May 28, 1953 and ran fro 358 performances
Cast: Barbara Carroll, Isabel Bigley, Bill Hayes, Arthur Maxell, Mark Dawson, Joan McCracken, Bob Fortier

Cinderella television production on DVD

I grew up with the 1965 version of this Rodgers and Hammerstein production, but knew that an earlier version of Cinderella with Julie Andrews had aired, but was thought lost. Well, what once was lost now is found.

The 1957 version is much more interesting than the remakes that have followed. Not only is it wonderful to see Ms. Andrews at the height of her Broadway career and to see Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley as the stepsisters, but it's also very interesting to see how the production was created to allow for costume changes and scene changes in a live television setting.

There is much more dialogue in this version than I recall in the Lesley Ann Warren version. There is more for the chorus of singers and dancers to do, as well. I have to confess a long love of Stuart Damon, the 1965 Prince, but Jon Cypher holds his regal own, even if his singing does not match Damon's.

There are some interesting extras on the DVD, but the funniest has to be Oscar Hammerstein reciting his lyrics while the Ed Sullivan Orchestra is conducted by Richard Rodgers.

Cinderella
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein
Television production from 1957 released on DVD
Cast: Julie Andrews, Jon Cypher, Alice Ghostley, Kaye Ballard, Edie Adams, Howard Lindsey, Dorothy Stickney, Ilka Chase

South Pacific in Concert from Carnegie Hall on DVD

Rodgers and Hammerstein's follow-up to Carousel was South Pacific, and my follow-up to the film Carousel is the 2005 taping for television of a one-night only semi-staged performance of South Pacific at Carnegie Hall.

The star-studded cast for this event was mostly from the world of musical theater with a couple of notable exceptions--Reba McEntire, and Alec Baldwin. Emile de Becque is sung by Tony-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell; Jason Danielley is Joe Cable; and Lillias White is Bloody Mary.

Mr. Mitchell is one of my favorite baritones, in the mold of John Raitt, with a robust and resonant voice that can climb into the high baritone range without losing its core. His singing of "Some Enchanted Evening" holds its own with the long list of operatic baritones who have sung the song before him, "This Nearly was Mine" rightfully brings the house down. In a show that is so much about race, though, I find it hard to see Nellie Forbush falling for Emile (portrayed by an African-American) then balking at the skin color of de Becque's children. But in a concert version, that is probably less important than in a fully-staged version.

Jason Danielley is a very likeable performer who can handle the rangey songs of Joe Cable. I've heard him live in concert, with his wife Marin Mazzie. While Mazzie is a high-wattage performer, Mr. Danielley can deliver the goods, too, as he does here with "Younger Than Springtime" and "You've Got to be Carefully Taught", although I question whether this song was shortened in this version.

Ms. McEntire is well-cast as Nellie Forbush. Her trademark accent and singing style really drive home the differences between Nellie and Emil. While I don't always agree with some of the vocal choices she makes, its hard to argue that she is a very watchable and listenable performer--in any genre.

Concert stagings of shows are hard things to balance, I would imagine. Often times, the performers' focus on their hand-held scripts seems to keep the performance from reaching out past the stage edge. Lillias White as Bloody Mary seems to understand this, and sings "Bali Hai" off book. It makes her performance that much more watchable, for me. Ms. McEntire does the same with the "Honey Bun" song, which from both a staging and engagement standpoint make it a lot more fun.

South Pacific
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Presented in concert in 2005 at Carnegie Hall
Cast: Reba McEntire, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Alec Baldwin, Jason Danielley, Lillias White.

Carousel film on DVD

Carousel has to be my favorite of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals; I've seen the film version many times and actually been involved with three stage productions of it. I am very biased, but I think it has the best score of any R&H show. The music really reaches a new level, and the way the book leads right into the lyrics is masterful. If the story is a bit far-fetched at times, I don't mind when I get to hear "If I Loved You" or the "Soliloquy." Even the character songs like "When I Marry Mister Snow" and "When the Children Are Asleep" are high and away better than your average show's best songs.

The filming in Cinemascope works well in this film, with blocking and sets designed to take advantage of the wide angle, allowing for two-shots that don't seem static. And it shows off more beautiful wooden sailboats in the harbor, which is almost as important to me as the show itself!

Dance again is a big part of this show, which was originally choreographed by Agnes de Mille. The dream ballet works the best, but the chorus dancing is demanding stuff for the musical's chorus.

Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones are paired again as they were in the film version of Oklahoma! Rather than a happy ending, as in their first film, Carousel has a much darker side to its love story. If the perennially perky Jones doesn't give the most nuanced performance, I'll forgive her because her singing has just the right balance of legato in the more lyrical portions of the score. And later in her career, Jones will prove her acting chops in Elmer Gantry, for which she won an Oscar. I like to think that her efforts in Carousel lead to a more successful result in the later film.

Robert Rounseville as Enoch Snow is an interesting performer, who played quite a bit on Broadway as well as on more "legit" stages. He originated the role of Candide in Bernstein's operetta, and well as being in the original casts of Babes in Arms (Rodgers & Hart), Knickerbocker Holiday (Weill), and Man of LaMancha (Mitch Leigh). Not a bad career by that list of credits, and this doesn't even count his New York City Opera performances. Do cross over performers like that exist today? Maybe Audra McDonald?

Carousel
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
20th Century Fox Film from 1956
Directed by Henry King
Cast: Shirley Jones, Gordon MacRae, Barbara Ruick, Cameron Mitchell, Robert Rounseville

Oklahoma! 1998 London Stage Production on DVD

I can't believe I've gone almost a month into my Year and not yet listened to a show by the grand poobahs of American Musical Theater--Rodgers and Hammerstein. Well to make up for that lapse, I'd better choose a good show and a good production to start the discussion. And with the filmed version of the 1998 London stage production of Oklahoma!, I've met both those criteria. Stage director Trevor Nunn has been putting the exclamation point on musicals all of my adult life.

This production was Hugh Jackman's introduction to the world, I believe, and on behalf of gay men all over the world--thank you Mr. Nunn. Mr. Jackman is well cast as Curly, with a good singing voice and charming demeanor. If his acting is perhaps not as nuanced as some of the other performers, or if his Curly doesn't quite project some vulnerability to balance the bravado, well, his bare chest helps make up for it.

The real star of this production for me is Josefina Gabrielle as Laurie. Ms. Gabrielle proves herself a true triple threat, singing Laurie's rangy songs without getting tinny in her upper register, truly dancing (not just performing dance steps) in the dream ballet, and most impressively, imbuing Laurie with real inner conflict about her impending womanhood and the choices she must make. For the first time, I saw Laurie as a microcosm for the state of Oklahoma. Just as territory folks are thinking about what's to be gained and lost in becoming a state, Laurie struggles with her statehood.

If you rent this DVD through Netflix or by other means, be sure to watch the DVD extras, which are on a separate disc. Not only was it nice to here the performers talk in their usual British accents, but the "making of" part of the DVD answered some questions I had about how they filmed this in front of an audience (the brief answer is that they didn't). One beef about the extra DVD--the talking heads aren't clearly identified. The actors are obvious, Trevor Nunn is obvious, Richard Rodgers's daughter Mary and choreographer Susan Stroman--not so much, and poor Ted Chapin of the Rodgers and Hammerstein organization could be just about anyone, if you didn't know.

Oklahoma!
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics and Book by Oscar Hammerstein II
1998 Royal National Theatre Production
Directed by Trevor Nunn
Choreographed by Susan Stroman
Released on DVD in 1999 by Image Entertainment
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Josefina Gabrielle, Shuler Hensley, Peter Polycarpou, Jimmy Johnston, Vicki Simon, Maureen Lipman

Showboat Recording

My listening pleasure today is a 1962 studio recording of Showboat by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. The liner notes say it was recorded to take advantage of the new Stereophonic recording capabilities. John Raitt sings Gaylord Ravenal; Barbara Cook is Magnolia; William Warfield sings Joe. The rest of the cast are not familiar names to me.

Is there any Broadway baritone who can compare to John Raitt? This is how I dreamed I would sing once I was leading my life upon the wicked stage. There's such an ease to his upper register that I've never been able to achieve. I remember watching, I think it was an Ed Sullivan clip, where John Raitt sings the "Soliloquy" from Carousel. At the end he interpolates at high b-flat. Most operatic baritones don't have that note.

Barbara Cook's singing is luminous. I have to say that William Warfield's voice does not have the rumble I think is needed to sing "Ol' Man River". I have other recordings of his singing and I like his voice, but this song calls for a true bass.

The CD reissue that I have includes four bonus tracks, one of which is Paul Robeson singing a song which was written for the 1936 film version; I'd prefer to hear Mr. Robeson sing "Ol' Man River."

Who knew PG Wodehouse shared the lyrics credit with Hammerstein? I must investigate the Wodehouse connection. PS. I discovered that Wodehouse wrote the lyrics for the song "Bill"-- a good song, no doubt, but certainly misleading on the credits of this recording cover, especally since other songs in the show have lyrics by writers other than Hammerstein.

Showboat
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and PG Wodehouse and others
Columbia Broadway Masterworks recording
Recorded December, 1961; CD reissue 2000
Cast: John Raitt, Barbara Cook, William Warfield, Anita Darian, Fay De Witt, Louise Parker, Jack Dabdoub
With bonus material sung by Tess Gardella, Helen Morgan, Paul Robeson, Jan Clayton